Читать книгу Forever Home... - Mike Deathe CPDT-KA - Страница 5

In many cases, the problem behaviors in shelter dogs come from a truly good place, but one that unfortunately, never works…the volunteers simply love too much. Not to say that love is a bad thing, but when we force our human emotions onto the world of other animals (in this case dogs), sometimes we get unintended consequences. We want to care for, touch and console a dog that has had a rough life or comes from a bad situation; but dogs, unfortunately, read the love as our approval for the unwanted behavior. By concentrating on the plight and condition of the shelter dogs rather than paying attention to the dog itself (their behavior/body language) we sometimes reward the dog for the exact problem behaviors we are looking to stop. As hard as it sounds, being able to put our human emotions aside and thinking like a dog is what it will take for these dogs to get adopted and find their forever homes. Simply put, volunteers must teach, coach and reward only those behaviors they want, and that means the behaviors prospective adopters want, not what WE think is best for the dog.

This book will focus on and introduce many of the common mistakes volunteers make with dogs, while at the same time showing how to use positive reinforcement techniques to get the behaviors that will find shelter dogs their forever homes. It will also provide specific examples on the “how to’s” for redirecting dogs to choose appropriate behaviors. We are going to go from being “love blind” to a laser-like focus on the dog’s problem behaviors, what causes them, and how we can correct them. This has a huge impact on getting these dogs ready for the next stage of their lives…reintroduction as pets in someone’s home! We will send them on to the next chapter of their lives, only this time prepared to succeed rather than fail! So let’s start with the mistakes we make or as I like to call them the “LOVE BLIND” mistakes!

So how do volunteers choose to start down the wrong path? Honestly it’s very easy… They forget the first rule of training dogs…DOGS ONLY DO WHAT IS REWARDING! Put simply, if a dog has a particular unwanted behavior, then either something in the environment or something WE are doing is reinforcing that behavior. Trust me - if the behavior wasn’t rewarding, no self-respecting dog would waste time doing it! Folks, now it’s time to “THINK LIKE A DOG”. No matter how hard we try, dogs will never be able to think like humans, and this fact alone is the reason why all of us dog trainers have jobs (thank you by the way!) For the dog/human relationships to flourish, WE must think like dogs, rather than expect dogs to “Speak English!” This is the main reason I tell my clients that I don’t train dogs, I train owners. Think about it…the dogs already know how to do everything; they know how to bark, they know how to be quiet, they know how to sit, lay down, and they even know how to come back when called. The problem is some humans have yet to figure out how to ask for or reward these and other behaviors. Humans must put all that gray matter, opposable thumbs and emotion away when working with dogs, so we don’t get caught up in their plight, condition or what we think they are feeling. In reality, if we would just simply watch behavior, body language and even our own actions, we would find the solution staring right back at us. Yep, we are causing and creating the bad behaviors. Sure the “we” might have been a previous owner or the dog’s past experiences; but rest assured that in most cases, humans cause the problem behaviors we see in dogs.

Now that I have let the “cat out of the bag”, the job falls on me not only to convince you, but to show you how to teach dogs how to make choices that will get them adopted! Let’s take a look at some common problem behaviors you have undoubtedly seen at your local kennel or maybe even inside your own home. Then we can break down how they were taught and what we can do to fix them!

1 The dog barks uncontrollably every time a person walks into the kennel area or even when they see a person outside of the kennel area. In some cases, this might have bled off to barking when they see other dogs or even a paper cup blowing by their cage.

2 The dog jumps up on people. These dogs want to get their faces and sometimes their teeth as close to you and your face as possible! It’s no wonder prospective adopters’ visits with these dogs are incredibly short.

3 The dog pulls like crazy when on a leash. This dog is not only a danger to the walker but to other people, animals and even the cars driving by.

4 The dog mouths or play bites. This is the dog that will engulf your hand when you interact with him. Some might be so rough that it actually hurts, or it could be that the dog just slobbers all over you, pulls at your clothes and has perfected the perfect canine body slam against your legs or side.

5 Some of the dogs might even have touch sensitivity. These dogs start play biting as a response to being touched in areas where they are uncomfortable being handled. These ares include their feet, mouth, tail, ears and private areas. Many dogs will “chew” on you if you attempt to touch these areas, while others might very well bite for real if the aversion to human touch is strong enough!

6 Others might fall into the hyperactive dog category. These dogs are so keyed up that it appears (rightly so) that they never sleep, cannot relax and are unable to calm down. They pace, bark, jump, mouth and seem to have boundless energy. Some folks might argue that this kind of dog has all the problem behaviors wrapped up in one uncontrollable package!

Want to learn how to fix these problems? Turn the page and let’s get to a deeper understanding of these behaviors, why they happen and just how to begin fixing them.